A friend of mine was at the American Telemedicine Association event last week and came home excited that video is coming of age with healthcare. The major carriers and the video companies were all in attendance and the general model is favorable.

There are a lot of opportunities when integrating remote health telecollaboration with medicine such as logical ones like remote diagnostics, training, and consultations.

The one that I’m most interested in right now is emergency room services. The reality is that for many the emergency room is a replacement for the primary physician.

It takes a lot for people who are well to keep a doctors appointment, but once they are sick the desire is for immediate attention. Without a doctor’s appointment the emergency room is the place to go; and American’s go there in abundance.

I would suggest the waiting room at most emergency rooms could offer a video link and some basic sensors (blood pressure & temperature) could enable doctors to consult and clear up some of the back log. It could also be the start of a primary care relationship.

This video concierge doctor may be able to network with these patients going forward so that the role of a primary care physician gets established.

I am not suggesting that video concierge services would be as good as Royal Pains’ Hank Med, but it would be as good a resource as clinics and may establish a more direct relationship to the community.

Alternatively, It may reduce some of the craziness of consultative services.

Whenever someone in my immediate circle has a major illness, the advice comes out of the woodwork; you really have to go see this one or that one. Often the recommendation is for someone out of reach geographically. Enabling them to consult locally would be a great benefit and ease the fear of the patient who primarily is seeking the best advice.

If you read the labor statistics the job requirements in healthcare are tremendous. It’s logical that telecollaboration video systems can make a difference. 

As Congress and the courts rethink healthcare, these are solutions that all sides should embrace and if liability issues are minimized, the potential for growth is down right healthy.